From the moment Richard Pryor sleep-walked through “Superman III”, to the scene in “Batman and Robin” in which Batman flashed a Bat Credit Card to the fact that a Green Lantern movie starring Jack Black was very close to being made, it’s always been readily obvious that Warner Bros. has no idea what to do with their DC properties, at least when Christopher Nolan isn’t directing.

So that’s why the recent news of the “Justice League” movie’s total collapse wasn’t surprising nor is it surprising that Warner Bros. could be returning to the well yet again with another rebooted Batman series.

[The next potential Batman franchise] is up in the air, and a lot of it is based on how “Man of Steel”performs. If that movie is a hit, Batman could wait until “Man of Steel III”. If it’s a flop, and if “Justice League”doesn’t get off the ground, Batman could be up sooner. Basically DC has Batman in their back pocket, ready to pull out in any eventuality.

At this point, it’s hard to say how well “Man of Steel” will perform. Zach Snyder clearly is a fan favorite but Superman the character has consistently flirted with cultural irrelevance since the mid-60s. “Man of Steel” might be a success but will it be as successful as “The Dark Knight” or even “The Dark Knight Rises”? Is Warner Bros expecting it to be as succesful as those films? Because it probably won’t.

And until Warner Bros. can successfully devise individual films or franchises for The Justice League members, we’re never going to see a “Justice League” movie because there’s just too many moving parts involved. The reason “The Avengers” worked was because we were already familiar with the characters. There was no preamble involved.

“The Avengers” hit the ground running.”The Justice League” has to not only introduce, develop and bring all of its characters together for a big adventure, it has to do it within a two hour and thirty minute time span. There’s nothing organic about The “Justice League” movie and that’s why it will never work.

So basically, what I’m trying to say here is that we can all expect to see the next Batman movie in theaters by 2015. Maybe we’ll get Zach Galifianakis as the Penguin. It won’t be so bad. Or good. But, y’know, it’s Batman. You’ll still go see it.